Jewel and cub in den - Oct 27, 2012Today, we showed Jewel’s den to the nearby landowners and asked permission to place a Den Cam and PTZ Cam (Pan Tilt Zoom Cam). They were excited, supportive, and helpful. We couldn’t have asked for more. They had seen Jewel, Fern, and Herbie forage near a road in early summer when the cubs were little. They offered to house the Den Cam equipment in a heated room with electricity just 320 feet away. This means we won’t have to worry about solar power, heavy batteries, and a Den Shed. The cables from the Den Cam, PTZ Cam, and microphone can go directly to the equipment in the room. The landowners even okayed putting a hole in their back wall for the 3 cables.
Herbie at entrance - Oct 27, 2012
Jewel, Fern, and Herbie have settled down a lot since our visit on October 9. On that date, they had just built the den, and they all readily came out. We replaced Jewel’s GPS batteries to see how much she might travel away from the den as some bears do. She didn’t. She came out of the den at 5:38 PM and 9:06 PM that evening but stayed around the den. We got one more reading 2 days later at 7:16 PM. Nothing more.
Today, when we arrived saying “It’s me bear,” they looked at us calmly and were obviously lethargic. We could see the bears have been out raking bedding but not lately. There were no tracks in the sand outside the den, and fallen leaves were scattered over the raked area. We hoped Jewel would come out so we could remove her ribbons and GPS unit, but she wasn’t interested. Herbie ventured timidly to the entrance but no farther. As bears slow down for winter, many become shy and reluctant to take chances.
Trail cam at Jewel's den - Oct 27, 2012We placed a trail cam at the den to take 30-second videos. It looked to us like they hadn’t raked in much bedding, so perhaps they will come out at some point.
We anticipate that the DNR will grant permission for Den Cams again this winter and we anxiously await their decision. When we got back to the Wildlife Research Institute, we called Doug Hajicek of White Wolf Productions. He will resurrect the Den Cam Technology Team. Tomorrow, we hope to assess possibilities at Lily’s den.
Thank you for your Holiday orders! We are still adding items to the Web Store. Today, samples of the NABC Collector Series ornaments arrived. This year Fern, June, Shadow, Ted, Honey, and Lucky are featured. The staff will make a few adjustments and probably get the ornaments in a week or two.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center